Wedding Blues
by Tell-Me-Tales
Summary: The wedding was today, and she was getting cold feet. But Ty-Lee had always met uncertainty with a smile. So she'd grin and bear for Mai's sake, even as she wished to switch roles with the bride. [Maiko, one-sided Ty-Luko, hint of possible TyAang][No Slash][One-shot][Complete]


**DISCLAIMER: Avatar: The Last Airbender (AKA Avatar: The Legend of Aang) is property of Michael DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Nickelodeon.**

* * *

~.~.~

**_Wedding Blues_**

~.~.~

_'They're getting married today,' _she realized, almost wishing she could just go back to sleep and forget about the wedding altogether. Of course, she couldn't do that. She was expected to attend for more than one reason.

The first was obvious. She was still Mai's closest friend. She had moved to Kyoshi, becoming one of their famed female-warriors, and lived on the island for years now. Still, the fact remained, Mai didn't make friends easily.

The second reason was because her parents were nobles. Admittedly, they were on the lower end of being middle-class nobles and therefore not considered all that important, but they were still nobles. As such, they and their family would be expected to attend. To not at least make an appearance would be considered a great disrespect to the Fire Lord. Such disrespect would have been enough to get their entire family-line executed only a little over five years ago.

The last reason was that she was expected to go as an ambassador of sorts.

Three years ago, the Fire Nation's civil unrest had come to an end and the collection of islands was once more at peace with itself, united behind their new Fire Lord. A year after that, her people had decided that it was finally safe enough to reveal themselves to the rest of the world. Her mother had been one of the first to step forward. Of course, they weren't full-blooded airbenders. There were precious few who were after a hundred years of hiding in the other nations.

Most of the airbenders had actually appeared from within the Fire Nation, like her own family; but then, what better place to hide than under Sozen's own nose? The airbenders had always been a nomadic people. It had been foolish for Sozen to think he had wiped them all out by attacking the four Air Temples. Still, there was no denying that it had been a devastating blow.

She frowned. It was too early in the day for these kinds of thoughts.

Finally tossing back the covers, Ty-Lee rolled out of her borrowed bed in the guest-quarters of the Fire Palace and landed softly on her feet. With an uncharacteristic air of depression, she stalked over to the large wardrobe that stood guard over the far wall from the bed.

She scowled slightly at the three outfits in the center of the wardrobe. One outfit for each of her three sides: the Fire Nation born noble, the adopted Kyoshi Warrior, and the Air Nomad that was no longer forced to hide. The problem was, she could only wear one; and she still hadn't decided which she was going to put on.

She knew that most would be expecting her to wear the Fire Nation Ceremony Armor; but on the other hand, she had never been one to conform to others expectations. She had always hated being put in a box, being told what she was supposed to be, and what she was not. She had worked all her life to be what she wanted to be, not what everyone else wanted her to be. And frankly, the armor had always felt stuffy whenever she had been forced to wear it in the past. She never had like wearing things that restricted her movements.

Right, so not the Fire Nation Armor.

She turned to her Kyoshi Warrior Garb and frowned. It wasn't that she was unhappy with her life on the island or her sister warriors, but her life had started to feel limited for the last few months. She was fairly sure that she wasn't completely happy with her life there simply because she missed being able to travel. She yearned to see new sights, meet new people, and her current life as a Kyoshi Warrior kept her from doing that. After all, their main purpose was to protect their home, and they had to stay there in order to do that.

Not her Warrior's Garb either, then.

Ty-Lee smiled when she finally realized what she had been trying to tell herself for awhile now. She was an airbender, through and through, a true Air Nomad. The airbenders had always taught respect for others and self; and true to their name, the Air Nomads were wanderers, always traveling wherever they pleased and exploring new lands. They were free spirits, and so was she.

* * *

"Ty-Lee!"

Ty-Lee instantly froze mid-step and groaned inwardly. She had been hoping to sneak largely unnoticed into the gardens where the ceremony was to be preformed, and he was the last person she had wanted to run into on her way there. Actually, she had been hoping to avoid him for her entire stay at the palace.

Ty-Lee drew in a quick breath to help steel her nerves before plastering a huge smile on her face and turning around. "Zuko!"

"I almost didn't recognize you," he admitted when he had caught up to her, "but the airbender's clothes suit you."

"You think so?" she asked, tugging lightly at her long, orange skirt, "Thanks, but...shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Oh, well, y—yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a habit he had never quite been able to conquer, "but I need some help. I was kind of hoping you'd be willing. The maids got most of the work done..."

She cocked her head to the side in false curiosity. Really, all she could think about was finding a way to escape. "What happened to the maids?"

"I, uh, sort of lost my temper and chased them off," Zuko blushed slightly at having to admit to the childish behavior.

"What about Mai?" she tried again, her desperation starting to leak into her voice, though Zuko didn't notice.

The Fire Lord chuckled softly, and Ty-Lee found herself wishing that it had been her name that had brought the sound from his lips.

"She'd kill me," he said, but his eyes lit with amusement as he remembered his soon-to-be wife's threats. "I've been given strict instructions that state I'm not to see her until the wedding begins. Something about wanting to surprise me, but I don't really get it."

Ty-Lee did.

Mai wanted to look perfect when Zuko saw her. She wanted to give him a memory that would last the rest of his life. She wanted to give him a memory of her.

Ty-Lee swallowed her envy back down before speaking again. "There's no one else that can help you get ready?" her voice coming out just a tad quieter than it should have to keep up her act of being perfectly okay.

Zuko sighed before answering, "Not that I can find in time." He tilted his head down toward hers, "Please, Ty-Lee?"

"Alright," she answered reluctantly, releasing a sigh of her own before squaring her shoulders, "but if you end up looking like a wreck on your own wedding day because I messed up, you're not allowed to tell anyone that it was me."

Zuko couldn't help laughing, "Fair enough."

* * *

"Zuko, stop squirming!" Ty-Lee chided him in irritation as she tried to fix his hair. She gave an aggravated huff and gave up, releasing Zuko's hair and resting her hands on her hips.

Zuko bit back his retort about her trying to yank out all of his hair and instead stated, "Sorry, but it's difficult to tie these with only one hand."

The female airbender snatched the ribbon from the Fire Lord's hand before assaulting his face with a short blast of air. "I'll do them after your hair," she told him while grabbing the other of the ceremonial robe's arm ties and depositing both of them just out of his reach. "Now hold still, Mr. Important Fire Lord." She poked him just to emphasize her point.

Zuko rolled his eyes, but remained still as she had requested.

There was silence for a moment as Ty-Lee worked at pulling Zuko's hair into a topknot. It didn't last long, as Zuko quickly grew bored of the silence.

"I keep forgetting you can do that," he stated as he watch her through his full-length mirror's reflection.

Ty-Lee's hands didn't pause as she finished tying the dark-red ribbon that would hold the topknot in place. "Do what?" she asked, actually curious this time, before hopping off the short stool she had been standing on and beginning her work on fixing the right sleeve of Zuko's traditional wedding robes.

"Airbend," he answered simply.

Zuko lifted his arm and used his left hand to pull the voluminous fabrics up until he could see his right hand again. Ty-Lee quickly tied a ribbon around Zuko's upper-arm and then began to fuss over where the sleeve met his shoulder, pulling the fabric out so that is looked slightly puffy. Or was it poofy?

Zuko spoke up again as he watched her, "I've been told ever since I was little that the airbenders had been wiped out. Well, except for the Avatar of course."

Ty-Lee waved her hand dismissively as she leaned back to look at her work thus far, "So has everyone one else in the world." Satisfied, she picked up the ribbon for his other arm and began to repeat the process again.

"That's true," the Fire Lord admitted, "Over the last few years I've finally gotten to the point where it's no longer a shock to think about the Air Nomads still existing. I still can't seem to remember that you're an airbender, though."

Ty-Lee finished her fussing over his left sleeve and took a step back, placing a hand on her cocked hip. "Even when I'm dressed like this?" she asked in mild disbelief as she swept her other arm out to her side.

Zuko nodded. "Even like that." Ty-Lee's eyebrows rose and Zuko continued, "I always see the little girl who used to sneak into the kitchen with me in search of the Chef's freshest batch of cookies."

"Hey!" she protested, crossing her arms in a stubborn fashion, "I'm not just a little girl anymore!"

"No, you're not," Zuko agreed easily, "but that's how I remember you."

Ty-Lee huffed and snatched the Fire Lord's flame comb off of the nearby dresser and jumped back onto the stool behind Zuko. She was surprised by how easy it had been to slip back into the role of being his childhood friend, it had even felt good for awhile, but that last comment had hurt. Still, she'd be boiled alive before she let Zuko know that.

Ty-Lee placed the flame comb into its position at the back of Zuko's topknot. She poked his shoulder and bent forward. "I'm not a child anymore, Zuko," she told him in a quiet voice, "I'm a woman."

Zuko looked back over his shoulder at her, a bit surprised she hadn't just let the subject drop like he had expected her to. "Ty-Lee?"

The airbender set her head on his shoulder and hugged him from behind. "Eternal happiness to the groom and bride," she said, repeating the traditional Fire Nation blessing that he and Mai would no doubt hear countless times today. She then slipped out the dressing chamber's double doors without another word, leaving Zuko to stare after her in confusion.

* * *

Ty-Lee had lost count of the times she had allowed herself to slip into daydreams where she had taken Mai's place. But really, what did she have except for her dreams now? Zuko was married. He and Mai were both happy. Wasn't that the best she could have hoped for? She would have been miserable even if her position had been switched with Mai's. She would have felt horrible if she had somehow managed to get Zuko and stolen Mai's shot at happiness.

After all, it was better this way, and Mai didn't know that she loved Zuko. No one did. Not her parents, not her friends, and most certainly not Zuko. No one knew, and if she had her way, no one ever would. Ty-Lee had a sinking feeling that Azula had always known, but who would believe anything she said now?

Azula... Yet another facet of her life that she didn't want to think about...

She shook her head and tried to focus on the dull conversation between the four or five others in the little circle she was in were having.

"The farming villages of Harzen have been doing very well this season..."

...

"I know! The profits from the rice have..."

...

"...fishing villages have also..."

...

Rice counts, profits, fishing towns on the coasts... What a boring conversation. How had she even gotten stuck with these people?

Ty-Lee looked around, hoping to find someone that she actually knew. Her eyes landed on Mai and Zuko, both having managed to escape the throng of guests and well-wishers of their wedding reception. It was obvious that they were talking to someone, but a large onyx pillar blocked her view and she couldn't tell who the person was.

It wasn't long before both Zuko and Mai bowed and re-entered the party, instantly being swallowed by the mass of people at the reception. Unable to deny her curiosity, Ty-Lee glanced back at where she had seen the couple talking. She watched as Avatar Aang stepped out from behind the pillar and headed toward one of the exits.

After watching the Avatar vanish from her sight, Ty-Lee was once again stuck listening to the bland conversations that were around her. Market prices, the Fire Lords choice of decoration, news from the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, how the reconstruction projects of all the Four Nations were coming along... How very fascinating.

Ty-Lee sipped at the fire-wine in her glass. Inside her mind, however, she was screaming in desperation for a way to escape.

She needed to get out of here. She was going to start tearing her hair out soon if she didn't. She needed some sort of adventure. She needed to travel again. She wanted to spend every day exploring new lands and meeting new people. She didn't want to go back to living in the everyday monotony that came with living in one place for too long. She was tired of feeling trapped!

"...heard that the Avatar dropped a small shipment of pineapricots off at a tiny village on his way here from Ember Island..."

And now they were talking about pineapricots. There had to be something more interesting that they could be talking about instead.

Ty-Lee almost yawned, but stopped herself before she actually did, as she came upon a sudden realization.

That was it! That was her answer! The Avatar!

"Excuse me," she said quickly, cutting off an elderly gentleman mid-sentence and passing her glass to the woman next to her. She bowed, as was tradition at formal events such as these, "but I have to leave now." She straightened and then was gone from the courtyard before any of the dignitaries could even think to object.

* * *

The maid grumbled under her breath as she cleaned one of the small tables against the corridor's wall, "Oh, Zira, we're all going to the wedding without you. You don't mind covering for us today do you? Of course you can't come, someone still has to do all the work!" The woman threw the rag she had been using at the wall and leaned back on her heals. "Didn't it ever occur to any of you that maybe I might have wanted to go, too?" the maid groused loudly. She slumped her shoulders in defeat before stating bitterly, "I guess not."

"Wha—Oh!"

The woman looked up just in time to watch as someone somersaulted over her.

Zira yelped and stumbled backwards, resting her hand over her far-too-quickly beating heart.

"Sorry!" Ty-Lee called back before putting on another burst of speed as she continued to run through the Fire Palace halls. She had to get to the stables before Avatar Aang left!

Ty-Lee rounded the next corner a bit too tightly and almost ran into a young man carrying a tray of drinks. She stumbled along until she ran into the opposite wall, bracing herself with her arms.

She didn't allow herself to waste any time. Ty-Lee pushed off of the wall and threw herself back into a run as she repeated her earlier call, "Sorry!"

The cycle continued to repeat itself as Ty-Lee hurried toward the stables. As it turned out, there was a surprising amount of workers in the halls that were able to serve as stumbling blocks on her way. If she hadn't been in such a rush, she probably would have found it ironic that all these people hadn't been able to go the Fire Lord Zuko's and Lady Mai's wedding, while she had been all but forced to go.

* * *

When Ty-Lee finally made it to the stables, after what seemed like a mere second but a lifetime's worth of running, she cast a hurried glance around. When she didn't catch sight of the Avatar or his bison, she nearly panicked. Her heart was pounding, and she could barely hear anything over its beating; still, she managed to hear it when someone yelled from somewhere to her right, out in the fields surrounding the stable.

Avatar Aang.

He was talking with someone else dressed in Fire Nation messenger robes from his place on top of his sky-bison's head. The why didn't matter. All that mattered was that she had been able to find him before he left. In the end, however, only one thought spurred her on: freedom.

Ty-Lee didn't think twice before jumping out of the stables through the first open window she ran across. She tumbled over the ground briefly when she misjudged how she should have landed on the wet grass outside, but she was back up and running almost as quickly as she had gone down.

* * *

She wasn't quite sure how she made it in time, but somehow she had, and she could feel the curious looks she was getting from both the Avatar and his Guardian Animal.

The female airbender could only imagine how she must look at this point, chest heaving and heart pounding as she held onto the bison's tail to keep from falling over.

She knew that her dress had to be a complete mess by now. It was probably torn, grass-stained, and covered in mud, along with whatever else she may have picked up while she had been running through the stables.

Her hair, once held up in a simple, but tidy, traditional Air Nomad style, was now falling into her face and in a condition that was most likely only just better than her dress.

And she could feel that her face was also covered in mud from her recent tumble, not to mention flushed and sweaty from her chaotic dash.

All in all, she was sure she was more of a sight now than she had ever been in her circus days.

Ty-Lee finally gathered enough courage and air in her lungs to look up at the airbender on top of the bison. "Avatar...Aang," she managed to say as she pushed her hair back out of her face and smiled slightly.

She'll probably never know what he saw in her at that moment, but his confused look was replaced with sudden understanding and he extended his hand to her. A wide smile took over his face that lit up his eyes, and she knew that no further words would be required.

Ty-Lee's smile grew to match the Avatar's own as she rushed forward for her second chance at adventure.

* * *

**Well, that's it. The story is through  
And now it's time I bid you _adieu_  
But before you go  
Perhaps you should know  
What follows may be of use to you!**

**If you enjoyed this story, you may also want to take a peek at the other fanfictions I've written. I'm sorry to say, however, that though I have a few ideas for more ATLA fics, this is the only one I've posted so far. Still, you might find something you like.**

**If you want to read more of Ty-Lee angsting over Zuko, you might take a peek at _I Know You_ by Tuna Salad Sonnet.**

**That said, please remember to review! Words of encouragement, thoughtful comments, constructive criticism, and tips on writing are all welcome and greatly appreciated! Also, please note that anonymous reviews are Enabled.**

**Thank you for reading!**


End file.
